The 55th Molodist International Film Festival will take place in Kyiv from Oct. 24 to Nov. 1, 2026.
One of Eastern Europe’s leading film events marks its anniversary with a new visual identity while maintaining its mission of discovering emerging talent and helping debut filmmakers find their place in world cinema.
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Founded in 1970 as a student film showcase, Molodist has evolved over more than five decades into an international platform for emerging filmmakers. Its program features feature-length debuts and short films – fiction, documentary and animation – by filmmakers from Ukraine and around the world.
From student films to an international festival
The first festival lasted just two days and featured 33 short films made by students of the Kyiv State Institute of Theatrical Arts named after Ivan Karpenko-Kary. The event was founded by film directors Vadym Chubasov and Viktor Ivchenko.
Since then, Molodist has become a platform for discovering new talent and introducing Ukrainian audiences to international cinema. The festival is accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF), which recognizes its standing on the international film circuit.
The competition program includes student films, short films and feature-length debuts, with a dedicated competition for documentaries. The non-competition program features sections such as Festival of Festivals, Forma, The Century of the Greats and Midnight Screening, among others.
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The festival’s top award is the Scythian Deer statuette, presented to winners of its competition programs.
Oleh Sentsov to head the international jury
The international jury of the 55th Molodist Film Festival will be chaired by Oleh Sentsov, a Ukrainian film director, screenwriter and writer, former Kremlin political prisoner and serviceman in the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
Sentsov directed the feature films “Gamer” (2011) and “Numbers” (2019), as well as the documentary “Real” (2024). His honors include the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2018, Ukraine’s Taras Shevchenko National Prize in 2016 and France’s Legion of Honour.
The international jury also includes Matthijs Wouter Knol of the Netherlands, CEO and executive director of the European Film Academy, Iranian filmmaker and human rights advocate Mahnaz Mohammadi, Ukrainian theater director Yevhen Lavrenchuk, and Latvian film scholar and critic Anita Uzulniece.
The jury will assess student films, shorts and feature-length debuts from around the world and select the recipient of the festival’s Grand Prix.
A separate jury for the National Competition will include Ukrainian director Viacheslav Turyanytsia, Polish film programmer Radek Lipka and French-British film programmer and Film Republic founder Xavier Henry-Rashid.
How to attend the festival
Screenings will take place at the Zhovten Cinema and the House of Cinema in Kyiv. Festival passes are already on sale. Students can purchase passes at a discounted rate, while Ukrainian military personnel are eligible for free passes upon verification of their service status.
Over 55 years, Molodist has grown from a student film showcase into an international cinema forum while retaining its core mission: supporting a new generation of filmmakers and introducing audiences to films that will help shape the future of cinema.
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